Super Six: Fighters’ strengths and weaknesses:
By J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY
October 14, 2009.
The one-of-a-kind Super Six World Boxing Classic gets underway Saturday on Showtime at 8 p.m. ET/PT. It’s the first round-robin tournament with fighters of this caliber in history, as six of the top super middleweights (168) will all fight each other over the next two years to determine the undisputed and lineal world champion regardless of belt recognition from sanctioning bodies.
The format is simple: A fighter gets two points for a win; one for a draw and zero for a loss. An extra point is awarded for a knockout. The top four fighters will advance to the semifinals that begin next year.
USA TODAY breaks down the field with their strengths, weaknesses and what each needs to do — and avoid — to prevail.
Arthur Abraham
30-0, 24 KOs
Hometown: Berlin
Promoter: Universum
Best wins: Howard Eastman W 12; Kingsley Ikeke KO 5; Edison Miranda KO 4.
First-round opponent: Saturday vs. Jermain Taylor in Berlin
Quick jab:”It will be tough, but I love tough challenges. This spectacular tournament will answer the one question everybody has been asking — who is the best fighter in this division? I have no doubts it will be me.”
The rope-a-dope: Abraham has made 10 consecutive defenses of his middleweight belt, but he has vacated it and moved up eight pounds to enter here. Despite a lengthy resume, he doesn’t have many bouts vs. world-class opposition. But there’s no doubting Abraham’s toughness. His jaw was broken in the fifth round of his first fight with hard-punching Miranda — courtesy of a cheap shot, an intentional headbutt from Miranda during a clinch. Despite not being able to close his lower jaw and bleeding from heavily from mouth, Abraham pulled out the decision and KO’d Miranda in the rematch two years later. Abraham is a solid puncher but his patterns of attack can be predictable. He likes to step forward and feint with his legs, and dip as if he’s about to spring into an attack. Almost always, he comes out of the dip by taking jumping back to create punching distance. If the opponent opens up to this feint, Abraham will attack. If the opponent doesn’t fall for it, Abraham won’t punch, either. His left hooks are very wide and he can be caught inside of it with straight punches, if an opponent is willing to stay in the pocket. When pushed backward, particularly when his back is against the ropes, Abraham buries his head behind his gloves to cover up. He doesn’t look to parry punches with his gloves and counterpunch, and can be outworked.
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Andre Dirrell
18-0, 13 KOs
Hometown: Flint, Mich.
Promoter:Gary Shaw Productions
Best wins: Victor Oganov KO 6; Anthony Hanshaw KO 5.
First round opponent: Saturday vs. Carl Froch in Nottinghamshire, UK.
Quick jab: “Froch is tailor-made for me. He hasn’t showed me anything. I think this will be my easiest fight.”
The rope-a-dope: A bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympics, Dirrell has the size (6-2, 75-inch reach) and athleticism to give anyone trouble. He has excellent hand and foot speed, a sharp jab and is a southpaw who frequently switches to an orthodox stance. But there are a lot of questions that have yet to be answered because Dirrell hasn’t faced elite competition. He likes to fight at his pace and at a distance, and can be rattled with intelligently applied pressure. Although Dirrell’s jab is cutting, he shoots it from and brings it back to his waist, leaving a clear path for leads or counters. Dirrell’s greatest flaw, however, could be his chin which is too available to take punches flush. He was knocked down in the opening seconds vs. Hanshaw though it wasn’t ruled correctly. Oganov was able to land occasional left hooks by stepping with Dirrell when he retreats in straight lines. He’ll need to tighten up on these fundamentals if he’s to go deep into this tournament.
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Carl Froch
25-0, 20 KOs
Hometown: Nottingham, United Kingdom
Promoter: Hennessy Sports
Best wins: Jermain Taylor KO 12; Jean Pascal W 12.
First-round opponent: Saturday vs. Dirrell in Nottinghamshire, UK
Quick jab on Dirrell: “Andre Dirrell is something of an unknown quantity for me because I haven’t seen very much of him. He’s coming into this tournament on the back of a lot of hype and he certainly talks a good fight.”
The skinny: Froch is physically and punching strong, and he’s unique because unlike most fighters who rely on power he carries it into the late rounds. His jab can be strong when he commits to it, but doesn’t turn it over so it’s often a backhand (an illegal punch, though rarely called). Froch has a solid chin, but lacks the athleticism to get away with carrying his hands so low. The result: He takes far too many clean punches. Unlike Roy Jones when he was in his prime — Froch prefers to freestyle, too, with the same daring and bravado — the Briton lacks the reflexes and foot speed to break the distance to bail him out defensively. Taylor made Froch pay for this flaw, dropping him for the first time in his career and hurting him badly throughout. But Froch isn’t easily discouraged. He’s a pressure fighter who knows how to cut off the ring to force the action, which can wear down an opponent mentally as much as physically. It’s a high risk-high reward style that rarely leads to career longevity but makes for exciting bouts. And no matter how far Froch is behind on a scorecard, he’s always in the fight.
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Mikkel Kessler
42-1, 32 KOs
Hometown: Copenhagen
Promoter: Universum
Best wins:Librado Andrade W 12; Anthony Mundine W 12.
First round opponent: Nov. 21 vs. Andre Ward in Oakland.
Quick jab: “The fact that I have to come all the way over here was just a bad negotiation, but I want people to know that I am not afraid of fighting out of my hometown.”
The skinny: Perhaps the most complete of the bunch and the favorite to win this tournament. A good boxer who is aggressive and throws an excellent 1-2 combination and a fierce right uppercut (in his only loss to Joe Calzaghe, he stunned him several times with it). Kessler has very good speed and power and a strong chin. He doubles and triples the jab better than anyone in the field, but rarely sits down to turn over his the left hook, which is more of an arm punch. Kessler can be timed because he tends to fight in the same pattern. It’s a subtle hitch: Kessler walks in with his hands low, picks up his guard as he steps into punching range, then drops them before punching. If timed properly, he can be caught in between — but his opponent has to have the acumen to see it, the speed to deliver and the will to hold his ground by staying in Kessler’s wheelhouse. In Kessler’s loss to Calzaghe, the Welshman was able to force the aggressive Kessler backward, handicapping his punching output and making Kessler constantly adjust his feet.
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Jermain Taylor
28-3-1, 17 KOs
Hometown: Little Rock
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment
Best wins:Bernard Hopkins W 12 (twice); Jeff Lacy W 12.
First-round opponent: Saturday vs. Abraham in Berlin.
Quick jab on Abraham: “A fighter’s power will be key in this tournament. Everyone has power. There will be KOs in most of the matches, but I will outbox Abraham.”
The skinny: Taylor starts fast but fades late. The primary reason is that Taylor, despite having an extensive amateur background, hasn’t learned how to relax or develop nuance to his game to disguise fatigue. The more tired he gets, the more sloppy his punches become and he’s easily caught in between by straighter shots. Taylor still tips off his right hand by pulling it back before throwing it — rather than throwing it from the shoulder, turning the punch over and torque his body to generate the power — and has yet to show an ability to parry an opponent’s punches with his own gloves or counterpunch in between. Taylor has the intangibles that can’t be taught, however, such as heart, determination and a good chin even though he has been knocked out twice. Rather than loading up on every punch and overshooting them which contributes to his fatigue problems, he has to figure out how to take power off some punches to preserve his energy and catch his opponent by surprise which would make his power that much more effective. A jab is not only an offensive tool to set up power, but a defensive one that can keep an opponent off-balance and steady Taylor through the rough spots and kill the clock until he catches a second wind. In other words, he needs to learn how to “rest” with his jab rather than fighting desperate. If he were able to do this for the last minute of the 12th round vs. Froch, he’d have been the victor rather than the KO victim.
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Andre Ward
20-0, 13 KOs
Hometown: Oakland
Promoter: Goossen Tutor
Best wins: Edison Miranda W 12; Rubin Williams KO 7; Jerson Ravelo KO 8.
First-round opponent: Nov. 21 vs. Kessler in Oakland.
Quick jab on Kessler: “He’s a typical European fighter, with some extra flair. He has above average speed. He brings it.… I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’d rather fight the best in my first match.”
The skinny: Ward is going from the frying pan into the fire. His three best opponents — Miranda, Williams and Ravelo — are light years behind the competition in this tournament. As with all young fighters, Ward will have to show the intangibles such as toughness at the world class level to have success here. After having some rough outings early in a career that’s been slow to develop, the 2004 U.S. gold medalist doesn’t appear to be a big puncher but is proving to be a well-schooled boxer which sets him apart from his Olympic peers. Everything Ward does is off the jab, and his use of feints and understanding of distance is exceptional. He’ll keep his left hand low when jabbing, but hides his chin behind his left shoulder and uses his legs aid his defense. He’ll go low with a jab to the body and wing an overhand right to get inside vs. a taller foe. He’ll paw with an outstretched glove to distort an opponent’s vision and bring a powershot with the other hand behind it. His gloves are always high when inside, and he doesn’t accept clinches by putting his hands behind the opponent. Instead, he’ll keep his elbows in tight, push off slightly with an extended left arm to create some space while his opponent’s hands are wrapped behind him and then punch out of the clinch. If there’s a darkhorse to win this tournament, it’s probably Ward.
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